Dragon Empire
"As for what we once were... From the elders I have visited, I've only heard whispers about that time. I know that once, we ruled all of the world. As for why it ended, none of them would say. But I'm sure the answer is out there, waiting to be found..." ---Nabura Sunscale, the Dragon Knight The first creatures to walk upon the mortal world and soar through its skies were the dragons, massive, majestic and inherently magical beings of awesome might that forged a mighty empire in the earliest ages of history. The dragons maintain that they were the sculptors of the world, carving great gorges and shaping mountains with their claws, and that they created all of the lesser races with their magic when they breathed life into the world to give it beauty. However, it no longer exists, and there is little proof that remains to explain why. The empire they came to form stretched across the world, with dragons living in relative peace, creating great works of art and treasures undreamed of. Not much is known about their family structure or if they had a kind of lineage system that led to the many varied colors and species of dragonkind that survive to the current era, but they were said to have existed without strife, unchallenged by anything other than themselves. Many scholars speculate on what happened to the dragons and their empire, and many theories and legends exist. Some attribute the values of modern-day dragons, namely their arrogance, greed and isolationism, to being the downfall of their grand society; that the largest and greatest of the dragons or the dragon clans came to war with each other over control of wealth, power and the desire to proclaim dominance of the species. Surely, a war amongst dragons, being the great beings of power that they are, would have shook the pillars of the earth and possibly eradicated the species. Another theory is that the elves rose to power, gaining an insight into magic that the dragons thought was theirs and theirs alone. The elves might have been able to harness magic against the dragons, driving them off or killing them outright in what may have been a slave uprising, which would be ironic, considering the elves would later on enslave the dwarves and the orcs. Some scholars say that the haughty, arrogant attitude that characterizes most elves could have been gleamed from the dragons and their magic. Though few elves have been questioned about this, they deny it vehemently. Another legend exists about a single golden dragon king who, through various means, came to rule over all of dragonkind. Some legends paint him as a hero, a liberator and a demigod prophet who was to lead his species into a golden age, and did so for some time before turning evil. Others say he was always a tyrant, who took control of the dragons violently and without mercy. In both legends, an unspeakable evil rose up against the dragons, forcing every single one of the empire's diverse citizens to rally against it. Legend holds that the battle against this nameless darkness lasted for eons, slaying countless dragons and reducing the species to a fraction of its former self. Living dragons do not speak of this time, or of the facts surrounding it. Many of them, in addition to their usual attitude regarding the "lesser" races, fly into a burning rage when inquired of it. What is known is that the king, long since believed dead, is now hated by the surviving members of the dragons. For what reason is theirs and theirs alone to know. A single legend about the fate of the king survives, that he was entombed by his former generals and most trusted companions in a magical tomb deep in the earth, far deeper than any other, beneath Dragon Mountain, and there he lies to this day, waiting to return and bring about a new empire. Regardless of whether or not the elves played a part in the demise of the dragons, they were the next race to control the planet. In the modern day, the dragons live alone and separated, meeting only to mate and continue the species, but separating after the affair is complete. They guard ancient hordes and great dungeons which contain the last living clues of the true fate of the dragon empire, but given the power of the dragons, they may never be known. Category:Lore Category:Dragons Category:Dragon Empire Category:Returned Dragon Empire